The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-08-30
TAX TILTS.
The Fight of the Pullman and West
ern Union COMPANIES.

The Fight of the Pullman and West
ern Union Companies.
For over a year the Pullman Car Com
pany has resisted the payment of Georgia
tax upon the gross receipts of their business
made by the interstate traffic. The tax is
levied by the tax act and whatever may be
the Comptroller Generals personal opinion
he is Obliged to make the levy unless the
courts hold that the tax is unconstitutional
This the courts have recently done, not in
the Pullman sleeping car case, bat in a case
where the same principle is involved, and
which is equally applicable and binding in
the Pullman matter. The Comptroller
General of Georgia, few days ago, asked
Attorney General Anderson for an opinion
in regard to the liability of the Western
Union Telegraph Company to the tax upon
its gross receipts upon interstate business.
What is meant by interstate business is the
money derived from a message sent from
Atlanta to New York or vice versa. The
company made the point that under a re-
cent decision of the United States Supreme
Court in the case of the Philadelphia and
Southern Steamship Company vs. the State
of Pennsylvania, MAY 1887. in which the
head note says, "a State tax upon the gross
receipts of a steamship company, incor.
porated under its laws. which are derived
from the transportation of persons and
property by sea, between different states
and from foreign countries, is a regulation
of interstate and foreign commerce, in con-
fiict with the exclusive powers of Congress
under the constitution" The court rules
that the States cannot constitutionally tax
the receipts of any company or corporation,
whether foreign or domestic, derived from
interstate business or foreign commerce.
Pennsylvania cannot, therefore, collect any
tax from the steamship company or receipts
derived from business between that State
and others or from foreign countries, and
Attorney General Anderson holds that the
State of Georgia cannot, therefore, collect
any tax from the Western Union Telegraph
Company or any business between points in
Georgia and other States, or vice versa. In
a conversation with the Comptroller Gen
eral Saturday, he said that the decision
would apply with equal force to the case of
the Pullman Car Company and To express
companies so far as their interstate business
was concerned.
Comptroller General Wright, in speaking
of the recent decision of the Supreme Court
OF the United States upon the tax on re-
ceipts derived from interstate business, said
that the tax act contained n number of
cases where taxes were imposed where the
United States authorities were in direct
conflict For example, the tax imposed
upon the iron safe companies and their
agents soliciting business Us well as the tax
imposed upon statesmen for nurseries and for
carriage and wagon manufactures was an
unconstitutional tax, so decided in the case
of drummer versus the taxing district of
Shelby, Tenn, commonly known as tho
drummer decision" These statesmen carry
no samples, but simply solicit orders by ex
animation of catalogues, and their business
is strictly one of interstate character, and
yet it appears that the General Assembly
continues TO place these parties on the list
as amenable TO the law